Abigail's Riddle (HP fanfic)

4: A Rather Odd Password

        After our feast, the old man, announcing himself to be Headmaster Dippet, gives a little speech.  He tells us that the Forbidden Forrest is Forbidden.  I roll my eyes.  As if any warning or threat will stop the people who really want to go in.  And any sane person, any good student, wouldn't go in a 'Forbidden Forrest' anyway.

        Promptly after finishing, a lanky, tall girl with moussy brown hairs stands up.  "Follow me.  We're off to the Common Room now.  Ravenclaws, follow me," she drones on in an amazing monotone voice.

        The other boy, by her side with quite a bit of acne, begins beckoning as well.  He, thankfully, is much more cheerful.  "Please follow after me, Ravenclaws!  Off to the Common Room we go!"

        I glance instinctively over to the Slytherins, where I see Tom smiling vaguely at a petite boy with glossy black hair.  Before he can realize that I'm gazing at him, I tear my eyes away and continue toward the Head Boy.  All this time, he must not've even been looking at me.

        "He's cute, isn't he?"

        My heart stops for a moment, and I jump about a thousand feet in the air.  That little girlish scream that's been haunting me all day escapes once again.

        "Sorry to frighten you," the same voice says.  I turn to look at the source of my near death.

        The girl's tiny, perhaps even five inches shorter than me.  Her bright blue eyes gaze up at me, as she shines her sparkling white teeth in a dazzling smile.  The hat balanced, slightly off, on her head is decorated madly with Silver and Blue. 

        She stretches out her tiny hand, about half the size of mine, to me.  I take hold of it delicately, like she's a porcelin doll I'm afraid to break.

        Some people say you can tell a lot about a person by their handshake.  The moment our hands meet. she enthusiastically begins to shake it.

        I manage a full blown smile, just for her benefit.  She could, potentially, be a friend.  She's nice enough, and if she's in Ravenclaw, she must be smart.  Not all my aquantances will come as easily as Tom.  I suppose that I will have to deal with it.

        "The name's Joanna ," she says brightly as we begin to clamber through the gaping doorway and up the muddled mess of stairs.

        "Abigail," I say in response, watching my feet all the while.  I've read that there are trick steps, that, when you fall through, will occasionally keep you trapped for nearly a day before tiring of the game.  The castle apparently gets extremely bored, so it plays jokes on the students to entertain itself.  In my opinion, the idea's quite foolish.  Still, if I was an ancient castle, I'm not sure whether I wouldn't do the same thing.

        "Oh, worrying about the trick step?" she asks, giving me a knowing look. I nod, and she continues, "Don't worry, it's on the third floor.  You'll have to pass it on your way to Potions.  There's another one hidden leading up to the Astronomy tower, but you don't have to worry about that this year."

        "Thanks!"

        "Of course.  I love to help my fellow Ravenclaws," she says.  For whatever reason, I find her opptomistic and cheery voice completely obnoxious.  I try to forget about it as I listen to her babble on about Professor Dumbledore, the apparently brilliant Transfiguration professor.  By the short conversation I had with him, he didn't seem too brilliant, but by the way she's talking about him, he might as well be Darwin.

        "Oh yeah!" she says suddenly, breaking out of her long string of babble.  "I completely forgot.  You were staring at Tom Riddle tonight, weren't you?"